PacifiCare, GeriNet teaming

Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005 | 11:09 a.m.

PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. announced that is partnering with GeriNet of Nevada to provide on-site primary care to residents of Trans Healthcare Inc. skilled-nursing homes in Clark County.

The partnership creates SecureAdvantage, a program that will be available Feb. 1 to PacifiCare's Secure Horizons health plan members who live in one of Trans Healthcare's eight skilled-nursing homes in Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Boulder City and sign up for the program.

There are about 800 eligible Clark County Secure Horizons policyholders, which is a private Medicare plan that offers more benefits than traditional fee-for-service Medicare.

The program is available as an added benefit with no additional cost to Secure Horizons members who choose GeriNet, a new Las Vegas physicians' group with about 10 doctors, as their primary care provider. GeriNet is based in Orange County, Calif.

Secure Horizons members who do not choose GeriNet as their primary provider must go to their physicians' offices for primary and preventive care, while the GeriNet patients will receive onsite care.

PacifiCare launched the SecureAdvantage program in Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties early last year and a few months ago in Tucson. About 800 Secure Horizons members use the benefit outside of Nevada.

Traditional Medicare patients typically see their doctors monthly, while SecureAdvantage participants see their doctors weekly, said Cindy Polich, vice president of Secure Horizons Senior Solutions program.

The cost of providing the more frequent visits is paid by PacifiCare, which receives a flat monthly Medicare reimbursement for its members.

"It is to our advantage to keep people healthy and out of hospitals and emergency rooms," Pokch said. "We spend more money on preventive services than Medicare would normally cover, but that comes back to us in quite a bit of savings in high-cost hospitalization."